Queenstown's Best Walks

Laying on the shores of Lake Whakatipu surrounded by mountain ranges and rivers, Queenstown has enticed tourists since the mid-1870’s with it's amazing walks. Known as the adventure capital of New Zealand, there’s plenty to occupy thrill-seekers but to appreciate the scenery and get to know it in more depth take it slowly on the following walks.

Ben Lomond Track

Above Queenstown, Ben Lomond peaks at 1748m. To access its summit, start on the Tiki Trail next to the Skyline Gondola’s base on Brecon Street. Or save yourself a 2km climb and around 1 ½ hours by riding the Queenstown Gondola up to Bob’s Peak and the Skyline complex. The 9.5km Ben Lomond Track is signposted from nearby the luge and takes around 5 hours return. It’s best hiked in the summer, in winter crampons and ice axes need to be carried.

A canopy of Douglas Fir and beech trees make for a dim 10 minutes before walkers emerge from the tree line to an open, 2-3 man wide track skirting the mountain side. In April, slopes are covered in green and bronze tussock grass with sparse interspersed with low-growing alpine shrubs. Here and there white-flowered ground cover grows amongst rocks alongside the trail. One kilometre in, deep blue Lake Whakatipu is glimpsed wending between the bases of hills and mountains forming its shoreline and disappearing in the direction of Kingston. To the trail’s distant left, tawny ranges lie creased and crumpled. Ascending onto the rockier ridgeline views widen. Queenstown, Frankton, and Jack’s Point make a tiny white cluster following the lakeside in a vast, dramatic landscape of hills and mountains.

It takes 2 hours to reach Ben Lomond Saddle where a seat looks out to broody, rugged ridges and valleys, looking as if they are draped in dark green velvet. The snow-capped Southern Alps jut across the horizon beyond.

The steeper, 1-person wide, summit trail is rocky. Orange-tipped poles mark a not so obvious trail amongst schist, twisting and turning nearing the summit. Far below in a forever green valley, Mote Lake comes into view, a blob of blue. It takes around an hour from saddle to summit where views over Queenstown, across the lake to Walter Peak Station, westwards towards Glenorchy and east to Kingston, The Remarkables forming the skyline take the breath away. Magnificent ranges to the north are like a menacing, churning sea, rolling and peaking.

On the return to the Skyline Gondola complex, turn off the trail and take the Skyline Loop Track which traverses tall, shadowy forest. A 1-minute side track off it leads to a giant picture frame framing Ben Lomond.

Queenstown Hill

For a less strenuous walk to overlook Queenstown, head uphill from town to Belfast Terrace for the entrance to Queenstown Hill Walkway. This leads to Queenstown Hill’s summit, from Marine Parade around a 3-hour return walk.

The road-width dirt walkway is a never-ending ascent, with the first half-hour through forest to the accompaniment of humming traffic and music drifting up from town, and the scent of pine. Around the junction with Loop Track, silence descends.

History is learnt along the way with information on the arrival of early Maori, the first in the 1100’s, and European settlers, around 1860. About 45-minutes from the start of the walkway, the Basket of Dreams steel sculpture marking the new millennium is reached, perched on rock overlooking the eastern end of Lake Whakatipu.

Continuing to the summit, the trail becomes rockier but the 20-minute climb is worth it. Buildings are more distinguishable in Queenstown, Frankton and Jack’s Point than from Ben Lomond, the lake a multitude of blues winds out of sight eastwards. Turning 180° the scene is one of tumultuous green ranges.

Returning to the junction with the Loop Track, take the Loop back to the start for a wander past sage green boulders scattered amongst the bases of bare, pine trunks. There are also several panels along the way on Queenstown tourism and early transportation.

Frankton Arm Walkway

The Frankton Arm Walkway offers a picturesque and tranquil lakeside stroll along the shores of Lake Wakatipu. This enchanting walkway provides stunning panoramic views of the surrounding mountain ranges, including the iconic Remarkables. Starting near the Frankton Marina, the path meanders through native vegetation, showcasing the natural beauty of the area.

As you amble along the Frankton Arm Walkway, you'll be treated to the sight of crystal-clear waters lapping gently against the shore and the distant reflection of the mountains in the lake. The trail is well-maintained and accessible, making it suitable for walkers, joggers, and cyclists alike. Benches along the way invite visitors to pause and absorb the serene atmosphere, creating a perfect opportunity for relaxation and a picnic.

Oxenbridge Tunnel Track

If heading out to Arthur’s Point, about a ten-minute drive from central Queenstown and home to the Shotover Jet, Onsen Hot Pools and the Gin Garden, take time to walk the Oxenbridge Tunnel Track alongside the Shotover River.

Coming from Queenstown take the Oxenbridge Tunnel Road on the left, just before crossing the Edith Cavell Bridge. Be sure to walk onto the arched bridge, opened in 1919, for spectacular views over the Shotover Gorge and powdery blue river. You may even spot the Shotover Jet powering beneath it.

Oxenbridge Tunnel Road is a gravel/dirt road with a carpark at the end near the river. Alternatively, walk from Arthur’s Point to the road, then along it for around 600m to the trailhead. The first part of Oxenbridge Tunnel Road is not particularly scenic, although there are glimpses of the Shotover Jet base and Canyon Brewing, a craft brewery, on the opposite shoreline. Once at river level you can leave the road and walk along the edge of its wide, boulder-scattered bed to the trailhead. In autumn, trees on the opposite slopes blaze red, yellow and orange.

Oxenbridge Tunnel Track is only a 10-minute, easy, slightly-ascending walk. Within minutes of beginning the trail, a rusting steam engine can be spotted down on a rock plateau, abandoned in the early 1900s by the Oxenbridge brothers. In their attempt to access alluvial gold, they constructed a tunnel to divert water. A mini waterfall spills from it nearby. The Shotover Jet travels as far as this point before turning back down the river.

Look out for ripe blackberries as the track is followed, high above the fast-moving water. It ends abruptly at a fenced viewpoint to look down on the picturesque, narrow rock gorge where the icy blue river noisily tumbles.

Historical Queenstown and Queenstown Gardens

Pick up a copy of the walking guide ‘Historic places in Queenstown’ from the Queenstown Lakes District Council or Queenstown i-SITE to learn a little of the town’s history.

Beginning on the corner of Stanley and Ballarat Streets at the Stone Library, built in 1877, the easy, flat walk visits the original Courthouse. A wagon in the shadow of towering Wellingtonia trees, planted in 1874 to provide shade for those waiting to attend court, gives the feeling of stepping into the past. On Marine Parade, running parallel with the lakefront, be sure to visit Williams Cottage, the oldest house in Queenstown, built in the 1860s. Now a shop, the interior still houses the original stone fireplace and dim rooms where wallpaper is marked by floodwaters. A front room is dedicated to Queenstown’s history and original occupants with photos and a 19th Century gown displayed.

Passing the bathhouse with its green and gold crown commemorating King George V’s 1910 coronation atop, on the beachfront, take time to walk through Queenstown Gardens, established in 1867. A 1.7km loop takes in the Rose Garden, a small lake, band rotunda and trails below a conifer canopy along the lake’s edge.

Back along Marine Parade, Queenstown’s first stone building, the Masonic Lodge, is now a gallery. Eichardt’s Hotel, on the corner of Marine and Mall and constructed in 1872, was the first hotel, also becoming the Cobb & Co. coaches’ booking office and terminus.

Lower Ballarat Street, a block up from the hotel, is home to the former Boyne’s General Store, a two-storey, verandahed building now the Reading Cinemas. Back on the lakefront where a pedestrian walkway skirts the lake edge, stands a statue of William Rees, the founder of Queenstown. Further along a rock flood column can be seen in Earnslaw Park, home of a Saturday art and craft market. Metal bands show the heights of floods, the worst occurring in 1878 and 1999.

The walk ends 20m or so away, where the TSS Earnslaw moors. Launched in 1912, it’s one of the oldest, coal-fired steamships still sailing and crosses the lake regularly to Walter Peak Station.